Egypt arrests Al-Jazeera journalist

A news producer for Al-Jazeera was arrested while on vacation in Egypt, police reported Saturday.

Egyptian Mahmoud Hussein was arrested at his house on Friday, having been accused of belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood movement and producing fake news.

Hussein had been stopped for questioning days earlier in the Cairo airport as he returned home for vacation, but authorities let him go.

“Al-Jazeera holds Egyptian authorities responsible for the safety of Hussein and is calling for his immediate release,” the Qatar-based network said in a statement.

Al Jazeera news network reported that Hussein’s brothers also had been arrested. Where they were being held was not released.

Hussein has worked in the capital, Doha, since 2013, when Al Jazeera closed its office in his hometown of Cairo.

Egyptian media have experienced an acute decline in freedom under President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who has personally met with journalists and writers at least three times since coming to power in a clear effort to set government red lines.

Last year, Egypt imprisoned a record 23 journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Egypt is second only to China as the worst global jailer of journalists.